Monthly Archives: August 2015

I am a lucky writer person, friends. Not only do I have a wonderful, dedicated agent in Carrie Howland, I also get to share her with a bunch of really talented fellow writers. One of them, Dionna L. Mann, has taken it upon herself to write up thoughtful, personalized interview questions for a bunch of us and host a Team Howland Blog Party on her website.

In her own words: “Dionna L. Mann is a spinner of children’s yarns, a weaver of nonfiction articles, and a forever-learner enrolled in the Institute of Imaginative Thinking. As a SCBWI member since 2005, she has placed work with Highlights for Children and Ladybug. As a freelance writer, she writes human-interest articles for Charlottesville Family Magazine, a Parent’s Choice winner. She is represented by Carrie Howland of Donadio & Olson, Inc. She can be found online at dionnalmann.com.”

Definitely check out Dionna’s site to learn more about her and a bunch of other members of Team Howland! When I signed on with Carrie back in the fall, I was so ecstatic just to have an agent that I never even imagined the instant support system I would gain in the rest of her authors. They found me immediately and have been so kind ever since. I know I need to be more proactive in talking to them, to be honest. (I kind of need to be more proactive in talking to a lot of people in my life right now — overwhelming busyness is an explanation for being a little withdrawn lately, but it’s not an excuse!) Luckily, Dionna’s made that really easy for me!

I’ve met lots of different types of writers in my day. Some can be awfully competitive, but I’ve found the ones who produce the best work are also the ones who always have other writers’ backs. I think that people who truly love working with language and crafting stories are naturally excited to find other people who feel the same way. I know that I want everyone in Team Howland to have success, and it warms my heart to know that they feel the same way about me. So hooray for Dionna, hooray for Team Howland, and hooray for Carrie for bringing us all together!